The present invention relates to fuel rails for fuel systems of internal combustion engines, and more particularly to self-damping fuel rails for damping pressure pulsations created by fuel injectors.
Typically, a fuel rail, or manifold, supplies fuel to a plurality of fuel injectors that inject the fuel into corresponding inlet ports of an engine. Electromagnetic fuel injectors deliver fuel to the engine in metered pulses which are appropriately timed to the engine operation. The sequential energization of the fuel injectors induces pressure pulsations within the fuel rail that may create various problems. For example, the pressure pulsations may improperly distribute fuel to the injectors, which can adversely affect tailpipe emissions and driveability, and/or may induce fuel line hammering, which can result in vibration and audible noise.
It is known to utilize a damper element inside the fuel rail to effectively minimize or dampen the pressure pulsations created by the fuel injectors. However, using a damper element increases the installation and assembly time of the fuel rail, and thus increases the overall cost.